We don't know how there sales would have been without them, so it's possible they weren't a waste of time, also New 3DS did cause some double dippers, so at least that wasn't a complete waste.

The purpose of these revisions are really just to give a bit of life to the system in question (also know that this is par for the course in regards to every Nintendo HH ever). The 2DS was made to draw in people who didn't want to spend that much money on a handheld. And the New 3DS was to get some more money out of those willing to upgrade, or for those who thought the 3DS was too weak.

I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by "rush jobs" though.

The biggest problem is we don't know the numbers for each distinct member of the 3ds family. The new 3ds is terrible in terms of exclusives but yet it's terrific in adding features to every 3ds experience.

Seems like Nintendo offered a price model that fits anyone's budget.

Yes we do, Nintendo gives a breakdown with each quarterly report. Shipments as of September 30, 2015.

3DS-26.06 million

3DS XL-19.23 million

2DS-3.92 million

N3DS-1.22 million

N3DS XL-3.91 million

Yeah, I would say it was. No games use the extra power of the N3DS, and the older one would have probably continued selling well enough anyways. It's too bad the new one wasn't the actual 3DS. The extra joystick and eye tracker for 3D would have been nice to have.

I think both systems released too late to have a bigger boost in sales.

They just follow the usual Nintendo handheld tradition, the main model, a cheaper smaller version, a model with new features, etc, so it is the usual Nintendo way of giving a bit more of life to a handheld and see if there are double or triple dippers.

And counting the 2DS out already? Sure, it has done badly in the West, though it still has Japan to go, and who knows how it will fare there, its cheap price can actually be factor in Japan, the country is not in a good economical situation, so this cheap option may fare well, though on the other side, the size of it may hinder it.

2DS, not really, N3DS, definitely.

While the new features are very nice, the fact that they had to do a hardware revision just to add them felt like a waste.

^^ Well the 2DS will have a big thing going on in Japan once it launches...the original Pokemon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow bundled with the system.

I think the 2DS was a great option, especially for younger kids and those who rather go for a cheaper model that still provides the same experiences as the original 3DS. As of this time, the 3DS is outdated, no matter how great its games are. The new 3DS is a nice upgrade for those who wanted to play their games with a little more efficiency. I don't personally think the original was a rush job as the new 3DS was meant to be what it was advertised, a new and upgraded version for those who seek something better. Now you can play games like Kid Icarus Uprising, Majora's Mask 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Smash Bros. with a little C-stick and bigger screen. This was a way to extend the life of the console that could only do so much at this point since its already heading to its 5th birthday.

I do wish there were more new 3DS exclusives other than Xenoblade and the Binding of Isaac. However, I can understand why developers were wary of making such games since it would alienate those who aren't eager to upgrade for one or two games.

I was gonna make a thread on this myself but never got around to it. I think they contributed to sales, for sure. But as viable software/hardware devices...yes, they were a waste of time. The only perks of the N3DS are better 3D, special in-game bonuses via the new buttons, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. Not much incentive there. If the 2DS was clam shelled, it would be a much different story imo, like a Mini 3DS maybe. Now consumers would eat that up.

Eh, my 3DS got old, so I told myself, "what the heck? Get the new one".

It was probably for new users, or people that felt like their 3DS was getting rusty